Slide rail assembly

Background

1. Technical field

The disclosure relates to a slide rail assembly.

2. Description of related art

A slide rail is used between two objects that can move relative to each other, such as between a desk and a drawer, or a server and a rack. A conventional slide rail assembly for a drawer and a desk includes an outer slide rail mounted to the desk, and an inner slide rail mounted to the drawer. The slide rail assembly may include roller or ball bearings for easier movement. A ball bracket sandwiched between the outer slide rail and the inner slide rail holds the ball bearings. However, the order in which the inner slide rail moves relative to the ball bracket and the ball bracket moving relative to the second slide rail is unpredictable.

Brief description of the drawings

Many aspects of the present embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, all the views are schematic, and like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an embodiment of a slide rail assembly.

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but viewed from another perspective.

FIG. 3 is an assembled, isometric view of the slide rail assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an assembled, isometric view of the slide rail assembly of FIG. 2, showing a first state of use.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a circled portion IV of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 4, but showing a second state of use.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a circled portion VII of FIG. 6.

Detailed description

The disclosure, including the accompanying drawings, is illustrated by way of examples and not by way of limitation. It should be noted that references to "an" or "one" embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary embodiment of a slide rail assembly includes a first slide rail 10, a second slide rail 20 slidably attached to the first slide rail 10, a ball bracket 30, a positioning member 40, and a locking member 50.

The first slide rail 10 includes a bottom wall 11 and two sidewalls (not labeled) extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall 11. A through hole 13 is defined in the bottom wall 11 of the first slide rail 10 at a predetermined position. Two stoppers 15 extend inward from the bottom wall 11 adjacent to the through hole 13. A mounting pole 17 protrudes on the bottom wall 11 adjacent to the through hole 13 and opposite to the stoppers 15.

The second slide rail 20 includes a bottom wall (not labeled) and two sidewalls (not labeled) respectively extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall. A plurality of mounting poles 21 is defined on the bottom wall at a predetermined position.

The ball bracket 30 includes a bottom wall 31 and two sidewalls (not labeled) respectively extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall 31. A plurality of holding holes (not labeled) is defined in the sidewalls of the ball bracket 30. An opening 311 is defined in an end of the bottom wall 31 of the ball bracket 30. Two blocking portions 33 extend opposite from the bottom wall 31 of the ball bracket 30.

The positioning member 40 is a resilient piece and includes a mounting portion 41 and a positioning portion 43 formed at opposite ends of the positioning member 40. A plurality of mounting holes 411 is defined in the mounting portion 41. Two rectangular cutouts 431 are defined in opposite sides of the positioning portion 43.

The locking member 50 includes a mounting portion 51 defining a mounting hole 52 and a locking portion 53 formed at opposite ends of the locking member 50, and a press portion 55 defined between the locking portion 53 and the mounting portion 51. Two hooks 531 are defined at opposite sides of the locking portion 53. Each hook 531 defines a locking slot 533 in a middle of the hook 531, opposite to the first slide rail 10, and includes a wedge-shaped protrusion 535 extending from a distal end of the hook 531, opposite to the first slide rail 10. The protrusion 535 has a slanted surface 537.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, in assembly, the mounting portion 41 of the positioning member 40 is fixed to a side of the second slide rail 20 opposing the ball bracket 30, by the mounting poles 21 of the second slide rail 20 extending into the corresponding mounting holes 411 of the positioning member 40. The mounting portion 51 of the locking member 50 is fixed to the first slide rail 10 opposite to the ball bracket 30, by the mounting pole 17 of the first slide rail 10 extending into the mounting hole 52 of the locking member 50. The locking portion 53 and the press portion 55 are positioned in the through hole 13 of the first slide rail 10. The ball bracket 30 is received in the first slide rail 10 opposite to the locking member 50. The blocking portions 33 of the ball bracket 30 ride over the protrusions 535 along the slanted surfaces 537 of the locking member 50 to respectively engage in the locking slots 533. Therefore, the ball bracket 30 is locked to the locking member 50. The opening 311 of the ball bracket 30 aligns with the through hole 13 of the first slide rail 10. The second slide rail 20 is slidably received in the ball bracket 30 opposite to the first slide rail 10. The stoppers 15 of the first slide rail 10 extend through the through hole 13 of the first slide rail 10 and the opening 311 of the ball bracket 30, to respectively engage in the cutouts 431 of the positioning member 40. Therefore, the second slide rail 20 is locked to the first slide rail 10.

When moving the second slide rail 20 from the first slide rail 10, an outer surface of the locking portion 53 opposite to the first slide rail 10 is pressed to deform the locking member 50 along a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 11 of the first slide rail 10 toward the ball bracket 30. The hooks 531 of the locking member 50 are released from the blocking portions 33 of the ball bracket 30. Thus, the ball bracket 30 may be slid relative to the first slide rail 10. At the same time, the press portion 55 of the locking member 50 presses the positioning portion 43 of the positioning member 40 to deform the positioning member 40 along a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 11 of the first slide rail 10 and away from the first slide rail 10. Thus, the positioning portion 43 of the positioning member 40 is released from the stoppers 15 of the first slide rail 10. Therefore, the second slide rail 20 may be slid relative to the first slide rail 10 at the same time as the ball bracket 30.

The ball bracket 30 and the second slide rail 20 of the slide rail assembly of the present application may be released from the first slide rail 10 at the same time to slide relative to the first slide rail 10.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of certain embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.